


Nirnroot

by Cakemage



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Alchemy, Attempted Murder, Babies, Dark Brotherhood - Freeform, Gen, Murder, Poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 06:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5901448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cakemage/pseuds/Cakemage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An assassin is contracted to kill a baby who is dying of illness, but things are not as they immediately appear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nirnroot

The assassin slid into the rundown stone shack and adjusted her hood, hiding her face in shadow.

"I am Lyra of the Dark Brotherhood. The Night Mother has heard your plea, Elaina," she said to the shack's occupant, a trembling young woman cradling a curiously still and silent bundle in her arms.

Elaina drew in a deep, shuddering breath, tears streaming down her face. "I…it's my baby," she said, indicating the silent bundle in her arms, "she fell into a coma after a long illness, and the healers and priestesses at the temple have tried everything but she won't wake up. They say that…that there's nothing more they can do for her. She'll never wake up again and I just, I just can't watch her die slowly, not even knowing whether or not she's suffering and being so helpless to stop it. So I…" she trailed off and began to sob in earnest.

"So you sought our aid to put an end to your child's misery," Lyra gently finished for her. Her diplomatic skills were why she had been chosen for this contract.

Elaina nodded furiously, her throat too tight to speak.

"I understand. I promise she will feel no pain," said Lyra. "Shall I step outside while you say goodbye?"

"No. It's all right. You don't have to leave," Elaina replied, choking out the words. "I've said all I can say."

She stroked her child's face one last time and stood up, gently handing her over to Lyra, who in turn laid the child on the table.

"You may want to leave the room," she warned.

"No. I owe her this much," Elaina replied, her voice quavering.

"Very well, it's your choice. This will be over quickly," said Lyra.

She slowly unwrapped the blankets surrounding the child's body and took a deep breath. Ordinarily she enjoyed her contracts, and took pleasure in her kills, but the idea of murdering children had never sat well with her, though she'd never admit that to the rest of the Dark Brotherhood. Still, there was no getting around a contract. She exhaled slowly and readied her shock spell, which would instantly stop the infant's heart. She raised her hand, doing her best to ignore Elaina's sobs, gazed at the child below, and stopped when she noticed her pallor and a strange, green foam around her mouth. She lowered her hand and wiped the child's mouth with her finger, then sniffed at the foam that stuck to it, her brow furrowed in consternation.

"What's wrong? What are you doing?" Elaina asked protectively.

"This is not an illness," Lyra replied, "she's been poisoned."

Elaina gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth. "What? How do you know? How is that possible? How could the healers have missed it?" she cried out frantically.

Lyra held up a hand to stop the deluge of questions. "It's Cyrodiilic nirnroot poisoning. The plant has different alchemical properties than the Skyrim variety, and is very rare even in my homeland. It's highly unlikely that the healers here in Markarth would even recognize it, much less know how to treat it. Speaking from experience, given in small doses on a daily basis, the nirnroot slowly drains its victims' health away, causing them to slip into a coma and eventually die. It's difficult to distinguish from disease unless you know what to look for." she explained as she began to dig through a pouch on her belt. 

"You said the healers wouldn't know how to treat it. Does that mean it _can_ be treated?" asked Elaina, a cautious hope beginning to creep into her voice.

"Most likely, yes," Lyra replied with a faint smile as she held up a small, red bottle. "I don't have the specific antidote required on hand, but I do have something that can wake her up for brief periods at a time. Long enough for you to keep her fed until I can retrieve the necessary ingredients and craft them into a potion. There is a slight problem, however."

Elaina's expression froze. "A problem?"

"Yes. You see, you performed the Night Mother's ritual. You have asked for death, and so there must be death. It needn't be your child's," Lyra added hurriedly, "but someone must die by my hand. I don't imagine it will be difficult to choose a new target; it seems to me that the obvious choice is the person who has been poisoning your baby. Can you think who it might be? Anyone who's made any trips to Cyrodiil of late?"

"Well, my aunt Luciana traveled there a few months ago to look for rare alchemy ingredients, but she would never…" Elaina trailed off as Lyra cocked an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"Seems to me that that would make her the prime suspect," she said.

"But why? She's been so good to us ever since my husband died," Elaina protested. "She moved in with us, she takes care of the baby while I'm at work, and she even gave up her apothecary to do it, too!"

"Sounds like a motive to me," said Lyra. "Perhaps retirement doesn't agree with her; with the child gone, there would be nothing to prevent her from reopening shop."

"Well, yes, she often reminisces about that store, but surely she wouldn't stoop to murder just for that!" Elaina insisted.

Lyra had rather a better idea of what people would stoop to and why, but decided to hold her tongue. Instead, she said, "There's an easy way to determine her guilt or innocence. I assume she still maintains an alchemy laboratory here?"

"Yes, in the cellar," Elaina replied. 

"Excellent. Ah, but first," said Lyra, uncorking the red bottle she'd been holding and nodding at the child. "Pick her up and open her mouth for me."

"Yes, of course," said Elaina, quickly following Lyra's orders.

She carefully tipped the bottle so that a few small drops of liquid dropped into the baby's mouth, then gently massaged her throat. Within seconds, the child began to stir, causing her mother to break into joyous tears.  
Lyra nodded in professional satisfaction and left the two to their reunion of sorts, letting herself into the basement and making her way down the stairs. Luciana's alchemy laboratory was nestled in a brightly-lit corner of the tiny room, and Lyra had to admit she was impressed with how she had made the most out of the little space that she had. The shelving system was, in Lyra's opinion, to die for, and everything was neatly labeled and organized. She took a moment to admire the setup and Luciana as a fellow master of the craft, then shook herself out of her reverie and set to work looking for evidence, resisting the temptation to pocket some of the rarer ingredients she found; stealing from clients was bad form. She soon found what she was looking for, a small, half-empty box of Cyrodiilic nirnroot. 

"There we have it," she muttered to herself as she set the box aside and resumed searching, this time for antidotal components.

This took some time, but eventually Lyra managed to locate the ingredients she needed. She quickly set about crafting the antidote, silently admiring Luciana's implements. It was no wonder she had been able to create such a refined, almost untraceable poison, considering the masterful quality of her alchemical instruments. All too soon, Lyra's work was finished, and she carried three bottles of her remedy back upstairs to a now-cheerful Elaina, who was gently rocking the baby in her arms. She looked up as Lyra reentered the room.

"Well?" she asked warily.

"Your aunt has been poisoning your daughter," Lyra said, setting the three bottles on the table.

Elaina exhaled sharply. "That _bitch_ ," she swore through clenched teeth. 

"Indeed," Lyra agreed, "However, I do have some good news. I was able to craft these antidotes that will cure your daughter. Give her one bottle every day and she should make a full recovery." 

Elaina smiled and slumped back into her chair in relief. "Thank the Divines. How can I ever repay you? Name it and it's yours."

Lyra grinned. She'd been hoping Elaina would say that. "Well, it would appear that your aunt won't be needing her alchemy laboratory any longer."

***

Luciana left The Silverblood Inn late in the evening, humming contentedly. It wouldn't be much longer before she finally reopened shop. That wretched child surely couldn't last more than a few more days at most, and then she'd be free of her and could leave her sniveling niece to drown in her tears. She smirked at the thought, then quickened her pace as she walked past the Warrens; you never knew what sort of rubbish would be loitering around, begging for a handout. She couldn't wait to leave this awful city and return to Solitude, where people were civilized. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't pay any heed to the black-robed woman leaning against a nearby wall.

"I hear you're a fair hand at potions," said the woman as Luciana passed her by. 

Startled, Luciana stopped and turned to face the strange woman. "Who are you?" she asked, endeavoring to sound more confident than she felt.

"I'm a fellow alchemist," Lyra replied, readying her lightning spell. "Your niece sends her regards."

Luciana's eyes bulged. "You can't mean…no. No! Guards, hel-"

There was a bright flash and crack of thunder, the thump of a body hitting the ground and a soft chuckle.

The End.


End file.
